Columns

The report issued by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks has attracted a great deal of attention in the media. Many of the media reports and responses are often at variance with each other and the absence of the report in the public domain (other than with Parliamentarians and a few religious leaders) makes it difficult to form an informed opinion on its recommendations.

The Commission being a fact finding mission had to make recommendations on the basis of the material before it and not in the air. The validity of such recommendations cannot be judged without  knowledge of the testimony that was placed before it. Once the testimony is available,  one can understand the process of reasoning that led the Commission to come to its conclusions and recommendations.

This would facilitate an analysis of the recommendations from an objective standpoint. Unfortunately what is currently happening is similar to the fable about the fable of the blind men who formed an opinion about the physique of the elephant  after merely touching one part of the animal and coming to a completely distorted conclusion of what the elephant looked like.

An example of a similar occurrence in relation to the Commission’s report would suffice to emphasis the importance of looking at it from a holistic  perspective. One media report states that the Commission has not referred to the vital witness Sara Pulasthi’s escape to India while another media report contradicts this by stating that the Commission  has recommended that the authorities investigate Sara Pulasthi’s escape to India.

Once the Report and the testimony are in the public domain inevitably there will be differences of opinion with regard to the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission. However it is not open to anyone to question the integrity of the Commission’s Report as the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has done. Even before the Report is in the public domain the BBS Chief has made the bizarre allegation that before the Commission’s report was released it was tinkered with by an unnamed politico.

The million dollar question in the minds of most people is to the identity of the mastermind behind the heinous attacks inflicted on innocent  worshippers at churches and tourists at hotels. Not surprisingly the Commission’s report does not have any answers to this question. It is the investigative agencies whose task it is to unravel the truth and unearth the evidence against the perpetrators.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s  cry to ensure justice for his flock is understandable given that  nearly two years have passed since the dastardly and inhumane attacks on that fateful day. His complaint that the investigations are meandering along at a snail’s pace is not without foundation.

The terrorist network that was responsible for the attacks was dismantled within two to three weeks after the incidents and the over 200 suspects arrested. It is nearly one and a half years since the present Government took office and pretty little has been done since then with very few additional  arrests being made.

In fact the investigative process has been considerably weakened by some of the actions of the Government. One of the CIDs top sleuths Shani Abeysekera who has a splendid record of investigating and unravelling crimes has been sidelined under questionable circumstances soon after the present Government took office. SSP Shani Abeysekara, who is reported to have supervised the search operation for the explosives in Wanathawillu, was removed from the CID in November 2019.

Additionally, media reports revealed that 19 named CID officers who were investigating the Easter Sunday attack and identifying suspects had been removed from the CID in November 2020.

There is a need therefore for the authorities to relentlessly pursue the investigations. The CoI is not a substitute for investigations by the designated agencies within the Police. The testimony and findings of the Commission can at best only be an aid to investigations.

The news that several volumes of the Commission’s testimony will not be shared with the Attorney General can further delay or even cripple the investigations. The Attorney General is the final authority to examine the evidence and file indictments against  those responsible. If the evidence is insufficient the Attorney General can direct the Police to further investigate but he will be hard pressed to do so if the testimony before the Commission is withheld from him.

There are many unresolved crimes in recent times. The murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the murder of Wasim Thajudeen and the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda are a few instances where those responsible are yet to be brought before the law. The failure to identify the masterminds who committed the heinous attacks on churches on Easter Sunday 2019 against innocent worshippers should not be an addition to this ugly list of unresolved crimes.

In the meantime the news that 12 President’s Counsel have written to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka drawing its attention to media reports relating to the Commission of Inquiry inquiring into political victimisation is welcome news; that these Senior Lawyers have been disturbed by media reports relating to the Commission is itself a sign that the matter is a serious one. The learned President’s Counsel in their letter have said “Upon a perusal of these news items we have serious concerns that the contents of the report may undermine the Rule of Law in this country, impair the independence of the judiciary and erode the impartial and effective functioning of the Attorney General’s Department.”

The fact that a number of these President’s Counsel are supporters of the Government, including  the Justice Ministry Adviser U. R. de Silva, have not blinded them to the dangers arising from the report and will be welcomed as an instance of national interest superseding  political  alignments. The country will anxiously await their guidance after perusal of the Report.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)